The Review of Callaway Diablo Forged Irons

Until recently, even major golf retailers, and magazine testers had a hard time getting a hold of anything more than a standard issue 6 Iron to demo. It proved to be well worth the wait. Here's why better players--meaning at least Lower Mid-Cappers-- need to give these a try. Callaway has truly fashioned a game improvement club for the better player.
Now when referring to looks, I am not talking about the red paint and all the other fancy trappings and engravings Callaway Diablo Forged Irons seems to be pouring into this entire line of clubs. In this case I'm referring to the fact that the Forged Irons has gotten pretty close to the absolute finest of lines between Game Improvement and Better Players Clubs. While these aren't "blades" by any stretch, as far as Game Improvement Clubs go, these are darned close. The top line is pretty darned thin, and the soles are narrower too. The offset is minimal, and there's no protruding anything on the back end at address. If you want the full effect, you can even have a steel shaft--even though it is uniflex.
The feel is neither game improvement nor better players, but the actual hybrid I believe the Forged Irons was attempting to achieve. The 1020 Carbon Steel cradle helps provide the smooth and almost buttery part of the impact. The face, however, is far from that clingy buttery forged 1020 feel. That's because it's a red hot version of the 455 Carpenter Steel Alloy that's been welded to the cradle. The ball "POPS" off of this face, but the Carbon Steel Cradle actually transfers the buttery portion of the impact even though there is no actual "Cling" of ball to club face. It's a very different feel altogether--but I really enjoyed it. It's as if you could take 1/2 the buttery feel of a Mizuno, and somehow add a dash of "Yonex" Titanium pop. It is really a very cool stuff.
No there was no Zen-Like balance on the steel shafts. Oddly enough--the graphite shafted clubs felt better balanced to me. I think it's as if the Forged Irons were leaning towards a Graphite Shaft pre-production. The steel shaft is quite good mind you, -- it's a Nippon! Even so, the graphite shaft version was the one where club head awareness was apparent throughout the entire swing. These aren't the absolute best balanced irons I've ever hit, but they are the best balanced Callaway. They are also way up there on the scale of this year's offerings from all makers.
Overall: I’m giving these a full 5 stars, but just barely. If they were just a couple of hundred cheaper, I'd be droning on and on about how 5 stars isn't enough and all that rot. In the meantime, they deserve the 5 stars despite their price for several reasons. The Forged Irons has truly taken the time to literally--"forge a club" for the lower mid-capper to scratch player who has a repeatable swing, but needs a touch of forgiveness and more distance than what is available from just a standard forged club.